Estonian Art Museum rehearses evacuation of valuable works

Estonian public broadcaster ERR reported that the Estonian Art Museum and the Heritage Board are practising the evacuation of the state’s most valuable museum objects during the Ars Longa crisis exercise in Tallinn this week.

Crisis expert Linda Lainvoo told the programme Ringvaade that war would present the most difficult scenario, but other large and small incidents could also require objects to be moved quickly.

The exercise is intended to prepare for the worst, but the Niguliste Museum has previously faced a real evacuation. Its collection was evacuated in 1943 during World War II.

“That confirmed to us that it is possible to move them all at once on a large scale,” Niguliste Museum director Merike Kurisoo said.

To avoid handling the actual artworks unnecessarily, the museum has made replicas of the works on display. The models weigh exactly the same as the originals and can be folded in the same way when necessary.

“These are such rare and important objects that they cannot simply be handled carelessly,” Lainvoo said. She added that creating objects for testing made the field exercise particularly complicated and expensive.

If an incident occurs at Niguliste Museum, older works would be evacuated first, followed by newer ones. Lainvoo did not disclose where the works would be taken in a crisis.